It’s finally happened. The iPhone Developer NDA will be dropped. Another NDA will be sent out shortly, but that applies only to unreleased features, so discussion about the iPhone SDK will be allowed as soon as that is out. This also means iPhone development books can also be finally published. Read more in the announcement from Apple.
Related Links:
• Apple: To Our Developers
MacWorld has an article detailing a lot about Xcode, Apple’s development tool for the Mac. It is a good general overview on what Xcode is, and what other programs come with it like Interface Builder, or Shark. John Welch, the author, also goes into the benefits of Apple deciding to make the developer tools available on any Macintosh. To read the article, click the link below.
Related Links:
• Macworld.com: Xcode: Apple’s not-so-secret weapon
Last week’s news about Apple’s use of SproutCore triggered a lot of discussion about the future of rich Internet applications, run-time environments, and JavaScript frameworks. While SproutCore has been referred to as “Cocoa for the web,” its developer Charles Jolley says that the framework was “inspired by Cocoa,” not really a port of Cocoa. But what if someone ported not just Cocoa, but also an Objective-C runtime the runs entirely in JavaScript via a browser? Well, the developers at 280 North did just that.
Today, Apple released the 8th version of their iPhone SDK, bringing it even closer to the final release expected July 11th. To download it, register for free to become an iPhone Developer at Apple’s iPhone Developer page, and download the Beta SDK. Furthermore, Apple has sent out an email to developers to notify them that they are now accepting submissions to the App Store.
Get started by downloading the eighth beta version of the iPhone OS, available in the iPhone Dev Center. With this new version of iPhone OS you can conduct final testing and prepare your application for submission to the App Store.
Recent data indicate that Apple engineers have significantly lower salaries than their Silicon Valley peers: $89,000 at Apple, versus $105,000 at Yahoo and $112,000 at Google. Paying lower salaries had a major impact on Apple’s bottom line when it was struggling in the market up until 2004. But now that Apple is highly profitable, these lower salaries are no longer a factor in Apple’s success. Will Apple have to raise salaries to match the market rate, or face defections?
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MacObserver’s Bryan Chaffin has a great article on Apple’s lack of game marketing. Bryan writes:
“Blizzard Entertainment is doing more for Mac gaming than Apple.”
He goes onto say:
“I am not criticizing the efforts of the small team of support people working on games at Apple, I am criticizing the amount of resources that Apple is putting into the effort.”
Bryan is right. When you open a magazine such as Video Maker or Digital Video, you expect to see an Apple ad that touts Firewire, or iMovie. Chances are, you will. However, take Game Developer Magazine for an example. Apple has been running some ads lately in this mostly PC and console magazine. I suppose their intent is to get developers who work on PC and console games to port their projects to the Macintosh, or perhaps to have some of them create original Mac titles. Although the ads look fine, and the Mac model they use looks slick (love that Cinema display), it is an ad that belongs in a consumer magazine. It makes no real case for why developers should be working on the Mac. They should feature some tools, list some market facts, write about less “game glut” on the Mac and lower customer support costs, or perhaps show screen shots of every major title on the Mac, or the company logos of Mac Developers. That ad tells me that Apple thinks game developers will develop for the Mac merely for the slick curves and hip colors that Macs come in. That strategy works for the general consumer market, however, I don’t think developers make business decisions based on these factors. Committing your company to porting a game or developing an original game carries certain risks. I hope my advice finds its way to Apple, so the next time I open Game Developer Magazine, I see a great ad with the caption, “All these titles are on the Mac, where’s yours?”
It seems to me that Apple really needs to appoint a qualified “Chief of Game Marketing.” This person should have equal power1 to that of the people who create strategies for the music, education, and print markets. Let me list some job requirements so you can brush up your resume:
I can think of some individuals who would be good candidates. Or Apple can do a “John Sculley” again, and go outside the computer industry. Bottom line, this position needs to be created, and filled with someone who knows games and the game development business.
1 Steve Job’s ear.